Saturday, September 25, 2010

Paul Bogush offers a sad and very honest view into a teacher's psyche, yet most teachers have felt this way at one point or another. I know I have. Teaching is by-far the hardest job you'll ever love. Teachers are being blamed for ills that can be directly attributed to the system. We can not afford to further demoralize an already over-burdened profession. We need more teachers to "step out of the corner", as Paul says, and speak out on what should really be done in the classrooms. I believe most teachers know how to reach kids. That may (and should) look different depending upon the teacher and the students in a given class. But, teachers are being forced to conform to a system of uniformity, high stakes testing, and fear. I wonder how many teachers struggle with shame because they follow the directives rather than do what they know is best for kids, or worse, hide in the corner with fear because they ARE doing what is best for their students.